Your Oscars Opening Medley is in Good Hands

Reviews were mixed on last year's Oscars opening number, hampered by an on-the-nose "recession" theme (remember the Craigslist dancers?) but memorable for Hugh Jackman's consummate showmanship and a fearless eagerness to please, even when having to sing lyrics like "I would swim a sea of human excrement" directly to Kate Winslet. That number won an Emmy for Best Music & Lyrics. This year, however, Academy Awards producers Adam Shankman and the other one have asked Marc Shaiman to return to the glittery platform that has previously netted him three Emmys for his efforts.

Shankman was the director of the movie version of Shaiman's Hairspray: The Musical, so we're ensured of a seamless collaboration between the two -- one that will surely showcase Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin's talents in a number paying irreverent homage to the ten Best Picture nominees, but also feature an of-the-moment tip-of-the-hat to the mimed fellatio and bird-flipping attitude of Adam Lambert's flagrantly homoerotic AMA's performance. [LAT]